It’s the context of the picture. Everything you fucking said about the context of the picture is absolutely fucking correct. When the picture first showed up on my screen, BEFORE I had read Gene’s explanation, it was meh, just a photo of some rocks. But I’m making a hairsplitting semantic distinction here. Now if the photo resulting from all those fucking engineering feats were to show a chestbursting alien or something skittering by, then it’d be cool all by itself. But then we’d have to reconcile with the fact that we’re in a universe where chestbursters exist so the banality of the image itself is actually reassuring.
A Ring camera on Mars - sure, it took a lot of effort and money to do i, but like other Ring cameras, not everything it records is, to me, breathtaking. Sure, you got footage of the robber trying to get into the house across the street, but you also got footage of the neighbor's dog taking a crap on your lawn.
I'm not jaded or hopeless but the camera took a lot of footage and I won't be watching it discover yet another rock and think, "I am awe struck by yet another rock because of all the money and effort the NASA team expended to show me a series of rocks." A relative once made me a wool wrap and I was appreciative that they had spent money and time to make the wrap, but I'm still allergic to wool and never wore it. Not everything excites everybody.
That's not a declaration on my hopelessness as much as it is a declaration on my not being that excited at space exploration in general. The same goes for underwater exploration - Cousteau discovered all sorts of weird stuff in the ocean, but if it isn't going to come up and bite me on the ass while I'm sitting on the beach, I'm not as impressed. He had his dream job SCUBA diving and getting paid to do it - his dream, not mine.
My friend is a PI on one of the Mars rover expeditions, so even if I might not otherwise, I do tune in to Mars news. And it always astonishes me. I do feel awe. When Curiosity and Perseverance landed safely, I cried each time. We are capable of so much.
But I am so scared we're going to privatize everything and remove this wonder and achievement for the domain of all of us to property of the rich. WE ALL deserve to participate in space exploration. We all deserve to enjoy and participate in this amazing bounty we create together.
Apparently Demento just claimed Mars (along with the Panama Canal, Greenland and Hoboken, NJ) and will be sending Elmo there sooner than Elmo expected.
Much of this is already privatized. NASA isn't building things - the contractor is. Boeing is one of the NASA contractors - that should worry us more than the whole thing being outsourced.
When I lived in P.G. County in MD I was amazed by the drive-through liquor stores. Finally a way to get refills without the nuisance of opening the car door and having your empties spill out in the parking lot.
But were they "Cut rate liquor" stores? My Lovely Wife, who grew up in P.G., prefers "Cut rate liquor" stores. She lives by the code of Ronnie Mervis: "Nobody pays retail, anymore. Why should you?"
"Rachel needs warm hats." Interesting. I've been reading "Enough Rope," a collection of short stories by the inimitable Lawrence Block, and in several of them it is mentioned that the price of a hat for an NYPD officer is $25. They don't actually solicit bribes, but they may mention that they need a new hat (this was in the days when men wore hats, of course), or a person asking for a favor may point out that the officer needs a new hat (a subtle bribe offer).
Re: Bob Evans: Not interested in peeling, boiling and mashing potatoes, I recently bought a package of Bob Evans refrigerated mashed potatoes at my supermarket. I haven't used them yet, so your column made me go to my fridge to confirm they're still there. Yep -- but with a use-by date of Dec. 01, 2024. Oops. Guess I'll never know the thrill of Bob Evans. Whoever he was.
Assume you mean the producer of pork sausage, not "Rosemary's Baby?" By the way, if you read the very fine print on that mashed potato package, you'll find that although a random and irrelevant "use-by date" may have passed, the product can still be used in place of mortar to repoint a brick wall.
As a Caryn, I respectfully request that people stop using "Karen" as a slur. It's not the end of the world, of course, but it's hurtful. Thank you for considering.
I love Alvin and the Chipmunks and I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. How could I be a bad person? :-)
I was doing a customer service trying-to-get-answers loop with a government agency the other day, and the two people I called told me each to call the other. I asked in the second round, I'm sorry to be a pain, but how do I get off this ride? The woman I was speaking to suggested I ask to speak to the manager. I said, you want me, an older white lady, to ask for the manager? At least she laughed!
I usually buy nonalcoholic beer at Giant. Their point of sale system doesn’t require an ID. When I went to buy some at a Safeway and it required one, I was WTF?
It's not just a fucking picture of a fucking rock.
It's a picture of a lot of fucking rocks
Taken by one fucking badass machine
That's been sending back fucking data
Almost fucking continuously
For nearly 5 fucking years
From about 64 million fucking miles away
On a planet where the temperature drops to more than
100 fucking degrees below zero
Every fucking night.
If you don't think that is fucking impressive,
You're fucking hopeless.
I came here to say something like that but you did it better
It’s the context of the picture. Everything you fucking said about the context of the picture is absolutely fucking correct. When the picture first showed up on my screen, BEFORE I had read Gene’s explanation, it was meh, just a photo of some rocks. But I’m making a hairsplitting semantic distinction here. Now if the photo resulting from all those fucking engineering feats were to show a chestbursting alien or something skittering by, then it’d be cool all by itself. But then we’d have to reconcile with the fact that we’re in a universe where chestbursters exist so the banality of the image itself is actually reassuring.
A Ring camera on Mars - sure, it took a lot of effort and money to do i, but like other Ring cameras, not everything it records is, to me, breathtaking. Sure, you got footage of the robber trying to get into the house across the street, but you also got footage of the neighbor's dog taking a crap on your lawn.
I'm not jaded or hopeless but the camera took a lot of footage and I won't be watching it discover yet another rock and think, "I am awe struck by yet another rock because of all the money and effort the NASA team expended to show me a series of rocks." A relative once made me a wool wrap and I was appreciative that they had spent money and time to make the wrap, but I'm still allergic to wool and never wore it. Not everything excites everybody.
That's not a declaration on my hopelessness as much as it is a declaration on my not being that excited at space exploration in general. The same goes for underwater exploration - Cousteau discovered all sorts of weird stuff in the ocean, but if it isn't going to come up and bite me on the ass while I'm sitting on the beach, I'm not as impressed. He had his dream job SCUBA diving and getting paid to do it - his dream, not mine.
Yep. AWESOME.
My friend is a PI on one of the Mars rover expeditions, so even if I might not otherwise, I do tune in to Mars news. And it always astonishes me. I do feel awe. When Curiosity and Perseverance landed safely, I cried each time. We are capable of so much.
But I am so scared we're going to privatize everything and remove this wonder and achievement for the domain of all of us to property of the rich. WE ALL deserve to participate in space exploration. We all deserve to enjoy and participate in this amazing bounty we create together.
Wait until Elon Fucking Musk puts a fucking Tesla on Mars......
Apparently Demento just claimed Mars (along with the Panama Canal, Greenland and Hoboken, NJ) and will be sending Elmo there sooner than Elmo expected.
To Mars, the Panama Canal, Greenland, or Hoboken? I say send the bastard to Hoboken.
Much of this is already privatized. NASA isn't building things - the contractor is. Boeing is one of the NASA contractors - that should worry us more than the whole thing being outsourced.
Would the church of Lobster Jesus baptize in clarified butter?
Ghee whiz!
I found your comment Clarifying, as well as New to Me.
For lo, though he was boiled, on the third day they found that he was still delicious.
When I lived in P.G. County in MD I was amazed by the drive-through liquor stores. Finally a way to get refills without the nuisance of opening the car door and having your empties spill out in the parking lot.
But were they "Cut rate liquor" stores? My Lovely Wife, who grew up in P.G., prefers "Cut rate liquor" stores. She lives by the code of Ronnie Mervis: "Nobody pays retail, anymore. Why should you?"
Well, they ALL conveyed a certain sketchiness.
Beats throwing your empties out the window on Indian Head Highway.
Now you tell me.
The Stack Before Hanukkmas
'Twas the Stack before Hanukkmas,
And commenters were stirring,
Lexi lay resigned with Phil finally purring,
As Gene at the Mac pecked one more plea,
Lay bare your soul, he wrote, for all to see,
I promise dear subs responses heartfelt,
And especially so, if you make with the gelt,
The non-chocolate kind, though 'tis certainly the season,
'Cause...um...Rachel needs warm hats is the only reason,
So feel free to press all my buttons, and please do not tarry,
By the way while you're at it, have a Happy or Merry.
"Rachel needs warm hats." Interesting. I've been reading "Enough Rope," a collection of short stories by the inimitable Lawrence Block, and in several of them it is mentioned that the price of a hat for an NYPD officer is $25. They don't actually solicit bribes, but they may mention that they need a new hat (this was in the days when men wore hats, of course), or a person asking for a favor may point out that the officer needs a new hat (a subtle bribe offer).
The NYT had an article one character shorter!
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/02/insider/a-short-history-of-the-timess-shortest-story.html?unlocked_article_code=1.j04.gSh-.c_uHsHPsQHlu&smid=url-share
That's a classic! Thanks for sharing.
The new Wapo comment format was the final nail in the coffin of my subscription. Not even for Hax and Petri can I stand it anymore.
"Trump: Because Integrity Matters" has to be the work of a latter-day Swift.
Hahaha, I thought “Taylor” before Jonathan came to mind.
On a recent walk I saw a banner similar to this one: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10228751004701631&set=a.1276962925830. As I noted in my FB post, the meme seems very popular (Amazon has a wide variety of options), but in what universe does it make any kind of sense?
"and an Olde English 40 for the road".
Re: Bob Evans: Not interested in peeling, boiling and mashing potatoes, I recently bought a package of Bob Evans refrigerated mashed potatoes at my supermarket. I haven't used them yet, so your column made me go to my fridge to confirm they're still there. Yep -- but with a use-by date of Dec. 01, 2024. Oops. Guess I'll never know the thrill of Bob Evans. Whoever he was.
Assume you mean the producer of pork sausage, not "Rosemary's Baby?" By the way, if you read the very fine print on that mashed potato package, you'll find that although a random and irrelevant "use-by date" may have passed, the product can still be used in place of mortar to repoint a brick wall.
Thanks! I almost threw it away!
Must be my screen, but I saw an image of either Our Lady of Guadalupe or "Shoeless Joe" Jackson.
"Do you eat ass?"
"Yeah"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s not so much that the rock is amazing, or even the picture of the rock. It’s the picture caption.
As a Caryn, I respectfully request that people stop using "Karen" as a slur. It's not the end of the world, of course, but it's hurtful. Thank you for considering.
I love Alvin and the Chipmunks and I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. How could I be a bad person? :-)
I was doing a customer service trying-to-get-answers loop with a government agency the other day, and the two people I called told me each to call the other. I asked in the second round, I'm sorry to be a pain, but how do I get off this ride? The woman I was speaking to suggested I ask to speak to the manager. I said, you want me, an older white lady, to ask for the manager? At least she laughed!
I usually buy nonalcoholic beer at Giant. Their point of sale system doesn’t require an ID. When I went to buy some at a Safeway and it required one, I was WTF?
The dirt is red because iron is the element most left by burnt- out stars. Why our barns are red.